RE: General Comments

[Ed Von Ruden <ed_itor@desertlinc.com>]

The commentary is thoughtful and interesting, but lacks the element
that I perceive as the ultimate factor in a healthy SSA.  That is
participation by governmental employees at all levels, but most
particularly the Federal Government.  I am not interested in whether
their private club is successful for them -- the cost of removing
millions of wage earners from the need to even marginally support
the system is unconscionable.  Many of these people still have
accrued SS benefits in earlier times, before, presumably, the self
serving governmental sector opted out through some device or another.
I know I was not consulted when this happened, and it is an
impenatrable network with extreme protective attitudes. Let those
folks receive some tax subsidy for the privilege of rolling over
their private club plans, but immediately enroll them and the
government in a universal retirement fund. Then let's do the new
actuarial studies and fix other inequities via means testing or
whatever is fair for a change.